Missing
by viper's fang
Summary: Basically, it's yu-gi-oh in a different dimension. There's a better summary inside. RATED M FOR A REASON!
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING: this is an alternate version of Yu-Gi-Oh! set in a different dimension in the year 2026. It has almost nothing to do with Duel Monsters. Also, Yami and Yuugi are separate people, the setting's in America, and Anzu is living in America, where she has not yet met Yuugi Motou. There is violence, smoking, and drinking involved, so that's really why I rated it M. You'll probably either like this or hate it. Either way. Be sure to review to tell me what you think as long as it's not too harsh. I do want to know.**

** -viper's fang**

* * *

Anzu was bored. She stared out the window, waiting for the day to start so it could be over. School didn't hold her attention anymore. It was too...shallow. Everyone was concerned about themselves, and themselves alone. She didn't know why it bothered her so much, because she was the same, but it still bothered her. Maybe she was just finding excuses to be anti-social, but she felt there was something else.

She didn't really notice that the bell for class rang until she saw the teacher step into the room with a new student in tow. Anzu could tell this poor kid was in for punishment already. He had a lot of purple hair, but weird blond locks framed his face and he wore a belt-like collar around his neck. He was short, too, with innocently wide voilet eyes. Probably the weirdest thing about him was the pyramid-shaped pendant with an Egyptian eye on it hanging on a rope around his neck.

The kid was nervous. He kept messing with his uniform jacket and glancing at the floor.

Already Anzu could feel the harmful intent from all the thugs in the room. She felt bad for whoever this new kid was.

"Class, we have a new student joining us today from Japan. Why don't you introduce yourself?" Mrs. Pammella suggested kindly.

"M-my name is Yuugi Motou. Please take care of me!" he squeaked in pretty good English. He bowed quickly and scurried to the back of the room to find a seat. It seemed that Yuugi already knew the drill. Get in, don't call as much attention to yourself as possible, and try to go for a back seat to avoid potential teacher's pet points. Everything to stay away from bullies as much as humanly possible.

Though he did ruin it with his odd appearance. Anzu thought the whole Egyptian pendant thing was way over the top. That would get any bully's attention. Worse yet, he seemed like he was naive, which really would ruin him in this school.

Once Yuugi sat down, the class started like normal. Periods passed, and Yuugi seemed to be in most of Anzu's classes. He also seemed to be the target of all the notorious bullies in the school. Anzu saw him get shoved into the rows of lockers, rammed face-first into the water fountains, and had a KICK ME sign taped to his back all through lunch.

She felt really bad for him, but she didn't get a chance to talk to him until after the bell signalling the end of last period rung.

Yuugi hung behind at his locker, sadly shoving books into his plain black bag.

"Hey!" Anzu called, walking up to him. The poor guy jumped about four feet in the air, probably expecting another jerk to bully him. He had a bandage covering a cut on his cheek just from his first day and a number of bruises lining his face.

"Oh," he muttered, and went back to putting stuff in his backpack.

"Bad day, huh?" she asked, bending over Yuugi's shoulder. He pretended as if she didn't exist. Anzu grew a couple of veins from being ignored by this little twerp. Who did he think he was? She regained her composure and tried again.

"So, uh, you're from Japan, right?" The only response Anzu got was a slammed locker and Yuugi walking away from her as if he didn't even notice her. She growled in anger and stomped away in the opposite direction.

"If that little brat wants to act all high-and-mighty, fine. But I won't be there to help him when he's in trouble," she muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

*Camper sitting on an abandoned lot, late at night*

"Any more news of the missing kids?" Yami asked, kicking back in the crappy rolling chair.

There was silence as Yami listened to the answer coming from the sleek black cell phone. When he heard the answer, he absently picked up a pack of cigarettes on the table next to him and lit one.

"No, huh?" He fell silent once more as he seemed to think of something else. His hand holding the cigarette brushed his bruised cheek and he finally spoke, a totally different tone coloring his voice.

"And is there any good reason you chose to dress me up like that weak shrimp Yuugi?" he growled into the phone. "Do you know how hard it is to let yourself get beat up, you pompous bastard? You just love to laugh at my humiliation don't you? I swear Kaiba, if you weren't peachy friends with Dragon, I would punch your lights out."

Laughter was audible, even to someone who might've been standing in the same room.

"You know why you have to be dressed up as Yuugi Motou," a smooth, arrogent voice said. "We couldn't very well get any information if you look like a spy. Yuugi's friends are tied to..."

"Yes, yes," Yami said. "They are somehow connected to the missing 'gods,' the rulers of underground society, right? But I find that real fishy, Kaiba. Why would a bunch of brats be mixed up in an underground war?"

"What makes you think I know?" Kaiba replied angrily. "All I know is that the last kid captured, that Jonouchi kid, was seen in the area where the three gods were last spotted before they disappeared. It could be a lead, it could be a goose chase, but we need to find those gods before a massive war breaks out in the underground, got it?"

Yami took a long drag before continuing, because he knew it ticked off Kaiba. "That still doesn't explain why I have to look like that useless kid."

"You're the bait, idiot. You have to look like you're Yuugi, coming from Japan to find his friends, calling the attention of their kidnappers. Either they'll want you out of the way, or they'll capture you, too. It doesn't make a difference as long as you get information from them."

"Fine," Yami muttered and snapped the phone shut.

He put out the cigarette and rubbed his forehead, where he could feel a headache coming on. He had to deal with school, an annoying girl, bullies who he could beat up in a second if he wanted, and kidnappers who kidnapped teenagers and were somehow connected to the 'gods' of underground society. That was enough to give anyone a headache.

Maybe it would be best if he went out for a little walk. Yami got to his feet and walked outside. Despite the cold autumn air, he only wore a dark tank-top and jeans. The brisk wind felt good, and Yami set out, the orange glow from steetlights lighting the mostly empty road.

Yami passed the school where he was now imprisoned for five days a week. He heard some laughter and slowed. He backed up a couple of paces and went around the side of the building. Lights from cars lit up the back of the school, showing a clump of kids messing around in the parking lot.

He was pleased to note that most of them were the kids that had hit him earlier that day, and they were all drunk. While it was tempting to go and kick their asses, Yami thought back to what Kaiba said. He was bait, which meant he had to keep a low profile. And while Yami hated Kaiba's guts, he had respect for Dragon, who was his superior. Everything Kaiba said were Dragon's orders, so Yami had to control his rage.

Yami took a deep breath and kicked the school's wall before pulling out a cheap disposable phone and dialed 9-1-1. "Hello, police? A lot of kids are getting drunk behind Washington High, you might want to come pick them up before any of them get into an accident."

On that note, Yami shut the phone and tossed it into a Dumpster next to him. A weak smile lit his features, but he was mad that he didn't get to have direct revenge on the punks. Oh, well. He spun sharply on his heel and stormed away as sirens began to wail in the distance.

*Elsewhere in the U.S.*

"Does he believe that the kids are being kidnapped due to the gods?" a shadowy figure asked.

A scared messanger shuddered and stammered, "Y-yes, Kaiba says that Yami completely believes the lies." A dangerous smirk was visible from the shadowed person.

"Good, good. That'll draw his attention away from what's really going on. You are dismissed."

"Th-thank y-you," the messanger uttered, glad to be getting away from the dangerous person.

"Oh," the mysterious man said suddenly, as if in surprise. "Did you think that meant alive? No, no, we can't have that. You know far too much to be let free. How do I know that you won't leak our information?"

"I-I won't!" the man protested. "Please let me-" whatever he was going to say next was cut off. Literally. A slim sword erupted from his chest, and he stared at it for a while before his body registered it was there. Then he fell dumbly to the floor, not moving.

"What took you so long, Magician?" the shadowed person asked disdain. "I thought you were going to make me sit through another boring speech about why I shouldn't kill him."

"Sorry, sir," the assassin apologized, dropping to one knee in respect.

"You know how much I hate boring speeches. Don't do it again," the unknown man snapped, leaning forward in his chair to reveal glittering blue eyes.

"Yes, sir."


	3. Chapter 3

**'Ello, Viper's back. This is so short, it's not even funny, sorry for making you wait so long. Actually, this is more like filler because it really isn't that important, but I figured you might want _something_ new to read for this story. It's really the next chapter that's the problem. (Don't worry, it'll be a lot longer.) I have it mostly typed out, but I'm just trying to sort out some details and it's taking me forever. Plus I'm working on another fanfic, but hopefully I'll update a lot faster than this in the future. Thank you to CrimsonSrawberry17 and varee, who have decided to follow this story and have reviewed. Also, a nice big shout out to heartbreakerninja, who's favorited this and reviewed so far.**

* * *

*Anzu's house, ten o'clock*

Anzu thought of that new kid again as she lay on her bed, trying to sleep. Yuugi. She knew that he had a rough day, but that was no reason to treat her like he did. After what he endured, you'd think he'd be nicer to a friendly face. The more that Anzu thought about it, the madder she got.

It wasn't like he could afford to turn down friends. If he wanted to survive, he'd need someone to back him up. And so far, it looked like he was blowing that task. Anzu got up and swung her feet over the side of her bed. She wasn't so sure why she was so mad about it, but she knew that going for a run would help her get rid of some of her frustation. Thankfully, her mom was still out at the bar.

Anzu pulled a light jacket from her closet and threw it on over her pj top. Then she shoved her bare feet into a pair of ratty sneakers.

She left her room and swiftly walked through the dark house. Anzu made sure the spare key was where it always was outside and locked the door behind her. Once that was accomplished, she starting jogging in the direction of Washington High.

Her mind was blissfully clear as the cold air whipped past her face. That is, until that blissfulness was interrupted by wailing police sirens and flashing lights.

Anzu slowed as she neared the squad cars outside her school. It looked like there a bunch of kids getting hauled off. She picked up the pace again and quickly hurried past, not wanting to call attention to herself.

Looking over her shoulder, Anzu thought she saw Yuugi walking away in the opposite direction, but when she looked again, he was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! Bet you weren't expecting it this fast considering what I said with the last chapter. This chapter sheds a bit more light on Yami's past in a bit of a...indirect way, I guess. It might even be a bit cliche, but whatever. Anzu's life at home is also revealed a bit.**

* * *

*the next day*

Rumors spread fast. Everyone was talking about the kids who got arrested in the night. Apparently, it was because they were caught drinking behind the school. Yuugi was spared from getting bullied because everyone was so preoccupied with the rumors.

Last hour was Theater Arts. It was one of Anzu's favorite classes. Except for when there was a partner project and she was paired with someone she currently very much disliked.

"So what do you think we should do?" Anzu asked Yuugi. They were supposed to be working on a script together. The best script was going to be made into a play that would be performed for the whole sophomore class. But the way things were going between Yuugi and Anzu, it was very unlikely that they were going to even have an idea before the deadline.

He didn't respond, just kept looking at the notebook in front of him, which he had been staring at for the past few minutes. "I don't have any ideas, but I'm open to anything you suggest." If he was ever going to open his mouth, anyway!

Nevertheless, Anzu kept her cool on the outside and didn't give up. "What are you reading?" she wondered, curious. She tried to glance at his notebook and Yuugi just snapped the book shut and gave her a dirty look. "Well, at least now I have his attention," she muttered sullenly.

"Why do you hate me so much?" she asked venomously.

Yuugi looked at her in surprise, his previous expression completely evaporated. If anyone else was looking in on the conversation, they'd think that Yuugi was the victim. "I don't hate you," he replied earnestly.

"Could've fooled me."

"No, really. I'm sorry if I'm acting really rudely, I just don't like to talk much." Anzu was entirely sure that the brat was lying through his teeth. If what he said was true, he still could've at least answered her a couple of times.

"Whatever, let's just get started on the project. Do you have any ideas?" Anzu asked again.

"What about Egyptian gods?" Yuugi suggested innocently. "I really like Egyptian mythology."

"Um, I can tell. Why do you wear that tacky thing around your neck anyway? All it does is get you into trouble," Anzu stated sourly, pointing to the pyramid that Yuugi wore.

"Not true!" Yuugi squeaked. But he chose not to elaborate, leaving Anzu to think that he was lying again. Seriously, that pendant was like a trouble magnet. Anzu forced herself to focus on the project instead of getting into a argument, which was becoming increasingly difficult for her.

"Anyways, I don't know much about Egyptian mythology. Got anything else? Like anything else from this century?"

Yuugi didn't seem to notice that comment as he seriously considered the question. All around them, groups were already starting their writing. The boy was silent for a while, then shook his head. "Nope, sorry," he replied nonchalantly, really getting on Anzu's nerves.

Finally, it was time to go home a few horribly slow minutes later. Anzu leaped up from her seat too fast, knocking all of her stuff to the floor. Yuugi's too. Anzu cussed and gathered up her stuff quickly, not noticing the black notebook that she picked up on accident.

Gracia, Anzu's best friend, walked her home. And of course, Gracia was only interested in talking about the kids who were arrested in the night.

"...Stupid, drinking in the back of the school like that. Did they really think that getting drunk behind the school was smart? I'm surprised they didn't get caught sooner, personally..."

Anzu didn't really listen to the chatter. Gracia was a great friend, but she was an airhead. She only cared about what was being gossiped about in school.

Instead of listening, Anzu was really just looking around at the dilapidated neighborhood around her. The houses were run-down, a lot of the lawns were overgrown, and trash littered the ground. No one was in sight, hiding in the houses until the safety of the night to come out and conduct their businesses.

Gracia didn't stop talking as Anzu stopped in front of her house. So until her friend let up enough for her to say good-bye, Anzu stood there patiently. The normally empty lot across from her house caught her attention as Anzu noticed that it was no longer entirely empty.

There was a rusted camper sitting in the dead center. It looked like a piece of junk, and almost like it belonged in that lot. She didn't think too much about it. Some one probably just dumped it there last night to get it off their hands. It happened all the time.

Anzu tuned back into her friend's conversation just as Gracia said, "Oh, I gotta go. My mom's enforcing the four thirty curfew now because those idiots got arrested. Just goes to show how much my mom trusts me." She gave Anzu a look that hinted Anzu should show some sympathy.

"That sucks," Anzu said, rolling her eyes for her friend's benefit.

"Yeah, well. At least you're lucky enough to only have your mom around for a few hours," Gracia said airily, not realizing what she had just said.

"I gotta go, Gracia," Anzu said, gesturing towards her house kinda impatiently. Gracia got the hint and left, waving over her shoulder as she went.

"Seeya, Anzu!"

Once Anzu regained her composure, she went inside her house and slammed the door shut behind her. "Are you home, Anzu?" her mother called from the kitchen. Anzu wandered into the room and let her backpack drop to the floor. "I'll take that as a yes," the older woman said, trying to remain cheery when it was obvious that she wasn't. There were bags under her eyes from a lack of sleep and her face made her look ten years older than her real age, fourty-five.

She was standing at the stove, cooking pancakes for dinner. To anyone else that would be weird, but Anzu and her mom started doing it ever since Anzu was five. At least once a month, it was tradition to make breakfast for dinner.

"Hi, mom," Anzu answered, giving her mom a hug from behind. "How was your day?"

"Not great. There's not enough money to keep paying the phone bill, and the phone company keeps threatening to shut off the line," her mom replied, sighing. "I hope your day was better than mine at least."

"Barely. I'm stuck with a person I don't like to do a partner project in Theater Arts. He absolutely refuses to help me, and it's very unlikely that we'll finish in time for the deadline. We still don't have any ideas, and most of the groups have already started outlining."

"Well, both of our lives suck. How about you and me trade places for a day?"

"I might be tempted to take you up on that offer, Mom," Anzu said, joking. She knew that her mom had to work hard to make ends meet, and that she'd probably crack under the pressure if Anzu tried to fill in her mom's spot.

She dropped onto a chair around the kitchen table. Her mom came over with a steaming plate of pancakes and a bottle of syrup, which she set in front of her daughter. Then she went back to the stove to cook her pancakes and sat down across from Anzu a few minutes later with her own plate.

They ate in silence, having really nothing left to talk about. Anzu's mom never mentioned just what she did everyday when she went into the city and Anzu ran out of things to complain about at school.

For perhaps the thousandth time, Anzu wondered why her mom never let her into the city. It made her wonder just what her mom was doing. Still, Anzu didn't press the matter.

Anzu finished her 'dinner' and dumped her plate in the sink. "I'm going to go do my homework, Mom."

She went into her room and sat down heavily on her bed, which creaked in protest. Anzu unzipped her backpack and rummaged around for her Algebra 2 book. Her hand paused when it brushed a notebook binding. Anzu didn't carry a notebook. She only carried around loose-leaf paper and a sketchpad, which didn't have a spiral binding.

Anzu fished the unfamiliar item out of her backpack and studied it for a minute. Then she realized where she saw it. It was Yuugi's notebook, the one he had been staring at.

While Anzu knew that it was rude to pry, she also felt miffed from being treated like crap from this kid. So what if it was rude? Yuugi had been rude her, so why shouldn't she at least get the satisfaction of looking through his notebook? Besides, it was probably all school work, anway.

To Anzu's immense surprise, it wasn't. The pages of the book seemed to be filled with a story of sorts. It was written in a journal style, with the name Yami scrawled at the bottom of each entry. Curious, she began to read the story.

By the time Anzu finished, it was almost eight o'clock and she was completely blown away. Most of it seemed to be about a teen-aged boy and his brother. One day, the little brother was kidnapped, and his older brother searched for him with a possessed type of devotion. He ended up working in a network of spies, after meeting one in an alley on accident. It turned out that his little brother was captured by a bunch of crackpots called the Jackals, who believed that a pagan god would come to life on the earth through sacrificing captured teenagers.

In the end, the boy was too late to save his little brother, but he did utterly destroy the Jackals afterwards. It was completely tragic, and Anzu felt herself wanting to cry.

Why had Yuugi hidden this from her? It would make an awesome play! Anzu had no idea that Yuugi was so good at writing stories. She planned to confront him about it the next day after she returned the notebook. With such amazing story writing skills, Yuugi should've had no problem with the Theater Arts project.

*Yami's camper*

"Shit!" Yami hissed, tearing apart his backpack. He shook everything to the floor. There were textbooks, a couple of pencils, a few pens, and several papers, but no sign of his journal. He searched every inch of the small camper, trying to find a journal that he knew wasn't there.

Yami threw himself on the couch in surrender about a half hour later. It must've happened when Anzu had dumped their stuff on the floor. She picked up her things so fast that she must have picked up his notebook on accident. Hopefully Anzu knew that it wasn't polite to read things that weren't hers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! I'm very unreliable when it comes to updates, huh? Well, sorry for the wait. But I think you will like this chapter. At least, I hope you will. ;) Being the coward that I am, I avoided confrontation between Anzu and Yami. For now. That'll change later on. I think. Anyways, I should probably tell you that Karasu is Japanese for Raven. So if you ever see a Raven reference, then I'm really just talking about Karasu. Who is Karasu? Why, he's Yami's cute little OC brother. Now, I'd like to thank Begecko-chan for following this story. Thanks a whole lot, and I will try to update faster from now on.**

* * *

Yami started out having a fairly peaceful dream, considering the usual nightmares that plagued him. Karasu was laughing next to him as they ran from room to room in their old house, his long red-tipped black hair grazing his chin. His coal black eyes were happy and his skin had a healthy glow. "Catch me you can, Yami!" he cried, speeding up and pulling away from his older brother.

"Wait, don't run so fast, Karasu!" He didn't want his little brother to leave him again. He just wanted to hold onto the skinny little boy and never let him go again. Soft giggles echoed through the darkened house and Yami couldn't see Karasu anymore. But he wasn't worried yet. Karasu always liked to play hide-and-go seek. All Yami had to do was find him, and then they'd be together.

He searched all the rooms in the house, but there was no sign of little Raven anywhere. Eventually, there was only one room left to search.

Yami paused before reaching for the door to Karasu's room. The last time he had been in there was just before Karasu had died all of those years ago. For some reason, Yami really dreaded seeing what was on the other side of that solid oak door. Despite his many misgivings, he forced his shaking hand to grip the doorknob. The old wooden door swung towards him with a groan of reluctance, and behind it stood Karasu, completely overjoyed to see Yami.

"Yami, you found me!" he cried, practically tackling Yami in a hug. Karasu was alright, of course he was. They were just playing hide-and-seek, after all. But why did Yami still feel so uneasy?

"You found me, but you found me too late, big brother," Karasu whispered. His grip on Yami loosened a bit, and Yami looked down at him, alarmed.

"You let them kill me Yami! You promised you'd save me, but you didn't! Why Yami? You let me die! YOU LET ME DIE!" Karasu screamed, pushing Yami away.

Suddenly, Yami was in a familiar earthen tunnel. Murmured chants filled the whole cave, and Karasu was laying in the middle of a crowd of bastards in black robes, unconscious. Yami felt a flash of panic and hope. He still had time to save Karasu from those bastards before they killed him, but how was he going to do it? There was no time to come up with a plan, so Yami just ran forward and tried to shove the Jackals out of the way.

It was too little, too late. An ugly light punched a hole in the ceiling of the cave. A horrible scream rose from the woken Karasu as his skin was burned away, slowly and painfully. It was all he could manage, but Yami could've sworn that Karasu reached for him, pleading with bloodshot eyes just before he crumbled to ash.

* * *

Yami shot awake, panting and sweating. A headache was forming, and Yami pinched the bridge of his nose before reaching for his cellphone to check the time. It was two in the morning.

As if on cue, the small device rang. Yami thought about ignoring it, especially since he already had a headache. He didn't need another one nagging into his ear over the phone at two a.m. Still, it was probably important, so Yami picked up.

"I'm surprised you woke up," was the snide remark that greeted him.

"Go piss up a pole, Kaiba," he replied. "What do you want?"

"You have to ditch school for a week."

"Not that I'm complaining, but why?"

"Because you have something more important to do," Kaiba said, but didn't elaborate. He did it just to piss Yami off, and it worked.

"Just spit out the damn instructions."

"We found some places where those missing kids might be held. I'll email you all of the locations and a complete list of the victims. The problem is, they're all with an hour to two hour drive from Demotte, but in opposite directions. So it'll take you a long time to search them all, considering there's twelve of them. Most of them are also complex storehouses, so it'll take you forever just to look in all of the rooms."

"Joy."

"But there's a chance that those kids might be found. And they are the key to locking down the bastards that kidnapped them. Besides, maybe they could tell us what happened to the three missing gods of the underground society."

"You're being surprisingly polite," Yami noted, apparently uninterested in what he was just told.

"It's two in the morning," Kaiba said, as if that explained everything.

"Whatever, just get the hell off of the phone and send me the locations, Kaiba."

Yami hung up before Kaiba could reply and got up to get some aspirin.

* * *

Anzu grew a good-sized vein when she saw Yuugi's empty seat in Theater Arts. First the little jerk refused to help her, but now he just wasn't there at all. Anzu had the feeling that he was ditching out of class just to tick her off.

She sighed and forced herself to calm down. Fine, she would just have to work without him. Still, Anzu wasn't much of an author/play write and all of the other groups were close to done with their first scenes.

Her gaze fell on the black notebook on the floor. It was so tempting just to use the story in the notebook to write the script.

Eventually, Anzu got a solution. She would write a script that was very similar to Yuugi's story, but with different names, places, and a little romance thrown in. It was perfect! That way, Anzu wouldn't feel so bad. Besides, it was Yuugi's fault for not being in school! That's what Anzu assured herself as she began to scrawl down the opening lines on a sheet of paper.

It didn't occur to her until later that the story in Yuugi's notebook was written in English instead of Japanese like it normally should've been.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm back again with another chapter, although this one's quite a bit shorter than the last one. I was going to make it longer, with it switching between Anzu and Yami, but decided not to because Anzu's side is giving me (more) issues. So I'm just put this one out there now.**

**Okay, just to get this out of the way, I don't smoke or drink or anything. I'm also not suggesting it to anyone or saying it's cool. I just put it in here because it fits. So please. DON'T. DO. IT! Whew, now that we have that covered, I'm going to continue with the chapter.**

* * *

Yami groaned when he saw just how big the first storehouse was. It was monstrous! Honestly speaking, it probably covered thousands of square feet, and that wasn't even counting the underground levels. Yami's head was pounding, but it wasn't even going to compare to his feet later.

In an effort to calm down, Yami pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it up. There was a long pause as Yami procrastinated going inside the building.

Once the cigarette was halfway burned, there wasn't time to be putting it off any longer. Yami ground it out and took his first step into the storehouse.

There were no lights inside. Maybe he should've brought a flashlight. Oh, well. There was still a lot of light coming from outside. The problem would come when night fell.

Crates were all over the place around the room. They were haphazardly laying all over the ground and they were also covered in a good inch of dust, so Yami knew that this storehouse had been abandoned for some time. He searched each and every box (and the hard concrete floor) for any disturbed dirt or dust, or even just any sort of sign that someone had been there recently.

His reward for all of that work: nada. Not one clue.

And there were still plenty of rooms like that one to inspect.

By the time that Kaiba called around noon, Yami had finished about half of the rooms on the top level of the storehouse. It was so quiet that he practically had a heart attack when his phone rang so loudly that it echoed off the walls, which didn't help his headache any.

"Are you trying to kill me Kaiba?!" Yami shouted into the phone. "Your call just scared the living shit out of me."

"Good, you need a good scare every once in a while. It's healthy. Anyway, did you find anything yet?"

"Not a damn thing. What's with all of these locations you gave me? They're huge as hell! Shouldn't you have several inspection teams working on this? I have other things to do, and I'm only one person."

"It's not me who gave the order," Kaiba snapped. "It was Dragon who gave it, so don't complain to me! I also thought that the teams would be better, but Dragon just ducked the question and said that you should do the job. So you better not screw it up."

"Yeah, whatever."

Yami hung up the phone in disgust and resumed his search. Not once did he think to look up. If he had, he would've noticed the glittering pair of eyes that were watching him with amusement from the exposed rafters.


	7. Chapter 7

**Kind of a short chapter, not too much happens, but it does has a lot of foreshadowing in it. I'd also like to thank supastar45 for being my newest follower for this story.**

* * *

Blue eyes flashed as the messenger walked up. "Did you see our dear Yami today, Magician Girl?"

"Of course sir!" she giggled, snapping off a mocking salute. "And I set up the clues, just like you wanted! He should find them sometime in the next couple of days. Tomorrow, if he doesn't go out of order."

"Good girl. You've done well."

"Thank you sir!"

* * *

Anzu came into her first period absolutely exhausted. She spent the entire night up trying to write the first couple of scenes for the play. It had taken a lot more effort than Anzu had thought it would. Not only that, but she finally realized something. She shouldn't have been able to read Yuugi's notebook. If Yuugi really was from Japan, then wouldn't the story be written in Japanese? Maybe it wasn't really his notebook after all. That was the only thing that Anzu could think of. What if that notebook just suspiciously looked like his? And conveniently landed where his would've when Anzu knocked everything off of their desks. Yeah, right.

Still, Anzu couldn't think of why he would write in English. It was obvious that the story had taken some time, so it wasn't written when he arrived in America. That's when she thought of another possibility. What if Yuugi was lying about his identity? Then she laughed aloud, causing the whole class to look at her weird. "Is something funny, Miss Masaki?" Mrs. Pammella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, ma'am," Anzu replied. She felt her face heat up. Everyone in the classroom laughed, then went back to what they were doing.

Still, it was dumb. That sort of thing only happened in movies, right? Anzu chided herself for thinking something so stupid before turning her attention to the class.

* * *

Yami was falling asleep on his feet and it didn't help to be staring at another huge storage area. Was it just him, or was it bigger than the last? He yawned widely and almost drifted off until he shook himself back awake. The last place made Yami pull an all-nighter and Yami was not looking forward to another one. At least he had a flashlight this time after he bought it from a corner store yesterday.

Little did Yami know, deep inside this building, a limp form hung on a cold concrete wall.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for favoriting, CrimsonSrawberry17! XD**

* * *

Anzu didn't want to go directly home after school. Her mom wasn't going to be back until eight-thirty, and Anzu felt like getting out of her neighborhood. It was stifling her there.

About two and a half miles away from her house, there was a small diner that Anzu had saved up just enough money for. She heard that they served some damn good apple pie, and that was exactly what Anzu wanted at the moment. Well, maybe not necessarily the pie, but a normal meal where Anzu didn't have to worry about debt or troublesome transfer students.

When she got there, the old wood-panelled walls and dark maroon walls were oddly comforting. A petite little blonde walked up and seated Anzu on a bar stool right by a big window that let Anzu look outside and see the dismal world surrounding the warm restaurant. Anzu wanted to request a different seat-there were plenty open-but before she could, the little blonde had disappeared. "Great," Anzu muttered. She threw another glance outside as a few fat drops of rain water began to fall. "Even better."

* * *

Yami was really wishing that he was back at school. He never thought he'd say it, but he was so tired that he could collapse on the spot. At least he could sleep through class! If there were any clues laying around, Yami hoped that they would pretty obvious, otherwise he'd miss them. Well, he got his wish, and not in the way he wanted.

He stumbled out of one room and into the next, his eyelids slamming shut against the sudden bright sunlight streaming through the window. He was so tired, it didn't even hurt when Yami hit the floor because he was already unconscious.

Flashes of memories flitted across Yami's mind. Karasu's smiling face, the panic when he realized that Karasu was gone, meeting Dragon, the impassive black-robed Jackals as they murdered his brother. One final image seared itself into Yami's mind. The scarlet red image of a vicious dog-headed beast, the symbol of the Jackals. It wouldn't go away. It followed him everywhere, even when he ran. It chased him and it kept getting closer and closer, snapping its jaws.

Just before the beast could reach him, Yami snapped awake. He didn't know how long he was asleep, but sunlight was still coming in through the window really strong, so probably not long. Yami got up and brushed himself off. He didn't pay much attention to the walls, so he didn't notice anything off until he looked around.

One glance up at the wall directly in front of him made Yami yell in surprise. The same red beast was crudely painted on the wall, but that wasn't the worst part. It was painted so that its jaws were about to clamp down on an unconscious Yuugi, whose wrist were bound to a hook about five feet off the ground, which meant that his feet were dangling several inches above the floor.

"Yuugi!" Yami cried as he ran to get the small teen down. He untied the knots and lowered Yuugi to the ground. Cuts were sliced deep into Yuugi's arms where the ropes were tied too tight, and bruises covered every visible inch of skin. Yuugi was so still that Yami thought he was dead, but there was a faint pulse when Yami checked.

Frantic, Yami pulled out his cell phone and dialed Kaiba. "What do you want, Y-"

"Kaiba, hurry up and send out some medical units, fast!"

That got Kaiba's attention. "What did you find?"

"Someone who shouldn't be here, and he's in bad shape."

"Where are you?"

"The building on Michigan Road."

"I'll be there."

"Wait-" Yami started, but Kaiba already hung up.

* * *

Kaiba sped along the abandoned streets in his old Porsche, which was just old enough not be noticed, but still expensive enough to fit Kaiba's tastes. The rain wasn't helping, though. It was hard to see more than two feet ahead, and the roads were too slick to speed as fast as he wanted. He almost missed his turn and had to ride over a curb. For a scary moment, Kaiba swerved dangerously towards a telephone pole, but gained control just in time.

Still, despite the less-than-reasonable driving conditions, Kaiba's mind wandered. He had always trusted Dragon. Even now, Kaiba still respected Dragon, but he wasn't stupid. Something was going on with Dragon. Why had Dragon sent Yami off alone to investigate the storehouses? Why didn't he let Kaiba bring the medical units when Yami had requested them? It was pretty sloppy work, maybe even border-line suspicious. Scratch that, it was just suspicious.

Dragon had been acting differently ever since that time Yami destroyed the Jackals. More withdrawn, more depressed, almost. It was like Dragon was actually _mad_ over the fact that the brat wiped out his bitter enemies. Like something didn't go according to plan.

Kaiba forced the thought from his mind. He trusted Dragon, and he always would. But still... No, he wouldn't think about it.

He screeched to a stop in front of the storage area and leaped out of his car before running inside to find Yami.

* * *

"Hang on Yuugi. You'll be fine," Yami said to the unconscious boy, more to reassure himself than to encourage Yuugi.

At that moment, Kaiba burst into the room. "What the hell? Why is that pipsqueak here? And is that the..." Kaiba trailed off, but Yami knew he was referring to the image on the wall.

"Yeah, that's the Jackals' symbol. They must be back."

"How?"

"I'd like to know the same thing," Yami replied. Then he gestured at Yuugi. "But I don't think he'll be giving answers any time soon. Where the hell are the medics I requested?"

"Dragon wouldn't let me take them for some reason. But his condition is too serious to leave him here. I'm going to rush him to the hospital since I'm the one with the car. You just go back home and wait for orders."

"Okay, but why don't you just give me a ride?" Yami asked, annoyed that he was going to walk out in the rain.

"Your weight will slow the car down," Kaiba replied as he scooped Yuugi's small body off the floor and carried him out. Yami growled in annoyance before following.

* * *

Just outside, a tall figure could be seen tampering with the Porsche, but no one was around to stop them. They took off shortly before Kaiba and Yami came outside.


	9. Chapter 9

**This may be the last chapter for a while, depending on how fast I get more ideas. I was riding on a wave of them recently, that's why there's been a few fast updates. But now I'm running a bit low, so it may take a while for the next chapter. Just saying this as a warning for those of you who are expecting more of these rapid-release chapters. Anyway, there's a lot of important things that happen this time around. Kind of big things. Oh, and for those of you who get mad at the first part of the chapter, make sure you read it to the end, 'kay? That's all I have to say. I think.**

* * *

"Yami, I'm going to take him for a shortcut through the the fields. It's the shortest way to get to the nearest hospital because there's fewer cars on the road," Kaiba said, pointing in the direction opposite of the one he came. Rain was coming down hard, soaking Yami to the bone, considering the fact that he was only wearing his usual dark tank top and jeans.

"Okay, just get him there," Yami snapped, worried that his smaller look-alike wouldn't reach the hospital in time. "It's faster to walk home going the other way, so I won't be following you. Contact me when you get him to the hospital."

"Yeah," Kaiba grunted as he set Yuugi on the front passenger seat. He slid in the driver's seat two seconds later and fish-tailed out of the parking lot, quickly speeding away from Yami. Yami sighed and started his long, wet trek home.

* * *

Kaiba's mind was racing as fast as his Porsche was. The Jackals were back? How?

And they obviously knew that Yami wasn't Yuugi. Dragon had hidden Yuugi and his grandfather himself! No one knew where they were, yet the Jackals had still found them. They had to be getting inside information. But how? What was their goal? Unless...

Suddenly, the Porshe hit a bump in the road the car began to spin out of control. Kaiba managed to straighten out, but he was going way too fast to stay in control for very long. He tried to slow down, but the car didn't respond.

Then Kaiba saw that the Porsche was veering off towards a telephone pole. "Oh, sh-" Then the car smashed into the pole at the speed of 85 miles an hour.

* * *

Yami cursed heavily as the rain impossibly started falling harder, completely chilling him to the bone. And was that thunder? Yami's headache was coming back with a vengence, and he really wanted to get out of the rain.

His salvation appeared in the form of a smallish restuarant. Yami only had a few dollars in his pocket, but oh well. It'd be enough to buy him a bowl of soup. Maybe they'd even let him wash dishes to pay for a meal.

He pushed the door absently open with his shoulder. A girl about his age flounced over to him and led him to a seat at the bar, where another customer was sitting at the far end. A high school student, judging by her uniform. Yami didn't think anything of it until the girl turned and noticed him.

* * *

_Yuugi?_ Was it really him sitting at the opposite end of the bar? What was he doing here? Ditching school probably. Anger flared up in Anzu again as she went to go confront Yuugi. She was working on a project on her own, thanks to him! And here he was, out in the rain, getting dinner in a tiny diner.

She marched over to the purple-haired kid and stood over him, arms crossed. "Where have you been?" she asked harshly. Only after she said that did she realize that she wasn't talking to Yuugi. First of all, this person a few good inches taller than Yuugi. Second of all, he seemed older, and leaner too. And when he turned to face her, his eyes held none of the childish roundness that Yuugi's did. His violet eyes were narrowed and showed an age beyond his years.

"O-oh, I'm sorry, you looked like someone I know," Anzu stammered out. Still, the similarities were uncanny. He had the same funky hair as Yuugi, except for the fact that some of the blond bangs were spiked up into the dark purple, he was wearing the same pendant, and...well, he was still short. If Yuugi grew up a bit, and took on a bad attitude, he'd look just like this kid.

Blushing, Anzu turned and slapped some money on the counter to pay for her food and rushed out of restuarant. How embarrassing was that? She just yelled at some stranger. Not only that, but a handsome stranger, if Anzu was being honest.

* * *

The only thought racing through Yami's mind was, _Shit!_ His hands were shaking from that close encounter, and he fumbled numbly with his cigarettes before he finally managed to pull one out and light it. He thought for a while that his cover was blown. Yami was relieved, to put it mildly. Anzu almost found out his secret. From now on, he was going to play it safer.

* * *

"So, Ginzo. What of Kaiba and little Yuugi?" asked the blue-eyed shadow pleasantly. He seemed to be in a good mood. Ginzo dreaded breaking that good mood. It was dangerous to foul the rare good moods.

"I made the car crash, as you ordered sir."

"Good. You checked to be sure they were really dead, yes?"

"Yes, sir," Ginzo replied, not particularly lying. He was hoping that the questions would end there.

"And?"

A nervous gulp broke the silence before Ginzo answered. "No sign of them, sir."

"What?" The word was spoken quietly, almost politely. He was inviting Ginzo to fix his error in what he said. Ginzo wished he could lie, but the boss was bound to find out eventually, then it would be even uglier.

"Kaiba and Yuugi weren't among the wreckage, sir."

"You failed?" There came that quiet voice again, dangerously muted, like the calm just before the vicious storm.

"N-no sir!"

"So you found the bodies?"

"W-well, n-no."

"That means you failed me, Ginzo. Do you know what happens to subordinates who fail their missions?"

Before the tall man could answer, the assassin called Magician dropped behind him from the rafters and used twin sabers to sever his head cleanly and silently.

"Magician Girl, clean up this trash," the man with blue eyes said before turning away. She appeared next to Magician from the shadows. Even the normally bubbly girl knew to be silent in the face of her boss' rage. She began to clear up the gory mess.

A few minutes later, Magician Girl was throwing the remains in a dumpster several feet away from the hideout. She found herself having doubts about Blue-Eyes' plan. She didn't really want to follow the cruel man anymore. Especially since he was planning to raise some Egyptian gods. There was clearly something wrong with his head, and Magician Girl didn't want a part of his craziness. Not anymore.

It made her sick when she had to tie Yuugi up like a stuffed pig in the storehouse. Still, orders were orders. And when Blue-Eyes gave an order, you followed them. Otherwise, you'd end up like Ginzo.

Magician Girl shuddered and turned to find Magician right behind her. "Ah, hello brother!" she chirped cheerfully. Despite being Magician's sister, Magician Girl didn't want to show her doubts. Magician was loyal to Blue-Eyes. At least, that's what she thought until he spoke up.

"I don't believe it would be wise to be Blue-Eyes pawns for much longer," he said softly. "He's getting impatient for his gods to be released, and I don't think that we'll last long if we continue to serve him."

"You were thinking the same way?" Magician Girl asked, her voice dropping and shading with worry.

"Yes."

"Great, now that I know you feel the same, let's blow this joint! I'm sick of being here!"

"No, not yet."

"Why not?" Magician Girl whined.

"Blue-Eyes will be able to find us and we will be in danger if we leave now. We shall wait for a better oppertunity to sneak away, when he is more distracted. Do you think you can bear with this a while longer?"

Magician Girl nodded reluctantly. "Good. Don't worry, it won't be much longer," Magician assured her. They both disappeared into the shadows.


	10. Chapter 10

Yami was relieved to be home. He was finally dry! He dropped onto his couch and checked his phone for any new messages.

Nothing. Yami frowned. Shouldn't Kaiba have reached the hospital by now? Did something happen? No, Kaiba was just being an ass. That was it. Still, it wasn't like Kaiba to go screwing off when something serious like this came up.

Just at that moment, Yami's phone went off.

-A couple of hours before-

Kaiba stood in the rain, looking at the silvery wreck wrapped around the pole. Yuugi was slung over his shoulder, still unconscious. If Kaiba didn't get him to someplace fast, he wasn't going to last long.

The tall brunette was about to turn and walk away when he remembered his phone. It was tracked by GPS, meaning that Dragon was able to track him anywhere as long as he carried his cell phone. Kaiba slid it out of his pocket and threw somewhere near the wreck.

Then he spun on his heel and turned to walk away.

* * *

-Present-

"Dead?"

Yami would've fallen if he wasn't already sitting down.

"Ah, yes. I'm very sorry to have to tell you this news, Yami," Dragon's sympathetic voice soothed. "But I'm afraid that we've found Kaiba's car in a wreck, and they were pronounced dead on scene."

"How did they crash?"

"Must have been going too fast and lost control, why?"

"Nothing, sir, I just thought it seemed suspicious."

"I thought so, too. That's why I'm having it investigated right now," Dragon replied thoughtfully.

"You'll let me know if there is any news, right?"

"Sure, Yami."

"Thank you, sir."

"Of course."

The other end of the line clicked off and Yami closed his phone quietly. Dead? Yuugi and Kaiba were dead?


End file.
